


Michael in the Middle

by fandoms_overload



Series: 5 Seconds of Summer One Shots [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Family Dynamics, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Multi, Polyamory, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 20:17:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6391777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandoms_overload/pseuds/fandoms_overload
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Micheal is the only one who's single, but he has a heart full of love and finds his special place with the people who truly understand him.</p><p> </p><p>I suck at summaries I apologize.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Michael in the Middle

June's POV

"So June, tell us the whole story. How did this come about?"

"You want the whole story?"

"From the beginning."

"Are you sure you have time for that? It's a very long story."

"We've got as much time as you need. Tell us everything."

"Being around the boys was natural to me...

We were all friends before I started dating Ash, so being around the others constantly wasn't anything unusual. Neither were cuddle piles during movie night. Before Ash and I started dating it was always whomever got to the couch first cuddled, then the other two would cuddle on the love-seat, or sit in the chairs. Occasionally, we'd all five manage to pile onto the couch in a massive cuddle pile.

After awhile it started to be Ashton and I on the love seat while Michael, Calum, and Luke cuddled on the couch. Until Luke met Amanda. Then it was just Calum and Michael who would cuddle either on the floor or on top of each other in a chair because they didn't want to "disturb" the couples. 

Touring with the boys, living with them, I learned a lot, and noticed things that most wouldn't pick up on if they weren't around them 24/7. Like Calum pulling away from Michael's cuddles and spending a lot of time alone on his phone. Or the way Luke got excited when his phone started laughing, cause that's Amanda's ringtone. How Ashton had these moods where he didn't even want to see me because of whatever is bothering him, but if I just rubbed his shoulders and reminded him that he's not alone he relaxed and opened up about whatever was eating at him. Then there's Michael. Michael is my best friend in the entire world. But, he could be hard to read sometimes. He's open when he wanted to be, but if he didn't want to share something, he wouldn't. Not until he absolutely could not take keeping it locked inside any longer. That's where my role as the band therapist came in. I am an excellent secret keeper, and they used that to their advantage. 

When I started touring with the band, Ash and I had been together for not quite two years. So, I knew everyone really well, and it wasn't weird for me to be there. I've seen all of the boys walk around that tour bus naked far more times than I care to admit. They were a shameless bunch. But it was natural. We all just kinda fit together. Luke was the first one to pull me to the back of the bus and pour his heart out to me. He wanted Amanda to come on tour with them as well, but wasn't sure how that would go with having all six of us on a bus. He really, truly loved that girl. She came with us for a summer, but had to go home in the fall because of school. That's when our movie night cuddle habits began to shift again. Luke was lonely, so he'd cuddle up to me on one side while I cuddled up to Ash on the other. But Calum wouldn't cuddle with Michael as much, and it was obvious that it upset him. I was always pro-Malum. But Calum didn't want cuddles anymore. Not from any of us. So it was up to me to be the therapist/secret keeper again. I convinced Michael to go out to the store with Luke and Ashton one night while we were stopped God knows where, so that I could talk to Cal. He knew. He was ready to either fight me or confess everything the moment the door closed behind the others. I just couldn't tell which when I first looked at him. But after a moment his eyes got glassy and I knew that he wanted and needed to talk about whatever was hurting him. It wasn't hard to pull him to the back room and just wait for him to find the words. His confession was short. Just two powerful words before the cascade of tears soaked my shirt. After choking out the words 'I'm gay,' he just collapsed into my embrace and sobbed for awhile. Once I got him to calm down, I reassured him that he was still loved and accepted. He could have said anything in that room and I would still love him. After he relaxed a bit, and I played with his hair until the tears stopped, he started to tell me about the boy he's been talking to. It started on twitter, the young, Korean actor who lives in LA that he liked followed him back and they started talking. That evolved into texting and more. I'm pretty sure at that point Calum was already in love with the boy he'd never actually met. But they had plans to meet and go out to dinner when we got to LA, so at least they were both trying. Calum wasn't the only one with plans when we were to stop in LA. Amanda was flying in and staying the week with us in the LA house so she could spend some time with Luke, which I got excited about because I love Amanda, and I wouldn't be the only girl anymore. The week in LA with all of us there was amazing. Lots of movie nights full of lots of cuddles. That's were this all started I think. Maybe it started years before, but I think that the week in LA was were it really started. Luke and Amanda cuddled in one of the big chairs, Calum and Ki usually took the love-seat, and Ashton and I were always on the couch. And Michael...my poor sweet Michael was lonely. And I can't stand when Michael is sad, so I'd pull him on the couch with Ashton and I, and he'd cuddle into my side during the movies. 

That started to become more and more of a habit, Michael cuddling with Ashton and I. After we left LA, Ki came with us for a bit, and Michael continued to choose to sit with Ash and I for most movies and such. There was one night, I can't pinpoint when exactly it was or where in the world we even were, but it was late, probably around two in the morning, and Michael came and quietly woke me up. We were on the bus, parked somewhere, who knows where, and we'd been on the road for months. I think it was decently close to the end of the tour, because we went home not long after this, but he woke me up, and pulled me to the back of the bus, and never said a word. He just needed some love, because something was really bothering him. He cried so much that night, not that he'd ever admit that, but he did. I just laid on the couch with him and held him while he cried. We woke up that same way, only Ashton had joined us. Somehow he managed to wrap those arms around both of us and keep all three of us from falling off the couch. It wasn't a huge couch and to this day I still don't know how he did it. That became a normal thing too, if Michael was upset, he'd burrow his way in between Ash and I for comfort and usually fall asleep on us. Usually on me. 

That's when I started to realize that I was in deep trouble. It was hard not to fall in love with Michael. He's all green eyes, innocence, dirty jokes, and jealousy. He's really one of the absolute sweetest people that I have ever met. He kinda got used to being with Ashton and I lot, not that we minded. Michael gave us space sometimes to just be a normal couple, but he easily got jealous when I'd spend alone time with Luke or Calum. Sometimes he still does. The first time I found him cuddled with Ashton without me was the night Luke came out of the back room in tears. He had been on the phone with Amanda, making plans for her to fly to Australia with with at the end of the tour, because they'd both forgotten to make the plans when she had been there a month earlier with us. He came out, crying quietly, and just pulled me back with him. No words to reassure the others that he was fine or anything. He collapsed into my arms and sobbed for about fifteen minutes before he could actually tell me what was wrong. Amanda was pregnant. They were both terrified, and rightfully so, but things have a way of working out. Amanda wasn't so far along that she couldn't fly, and she was graduating in less than a month as it was, so she was going to come to Australia with us as planned. By the time I had gotten Luke calmed down and back out to the main room to let the others know he was okay, Michael had fallen asleep with his head in Ashton's lap. Calum and Ashton told me how Michael seemed like the jealous girlfriend as soon as I left the room with Luke, and took turns impersonating him to try to cheer Luke up. It worked, Luke found it hilarious. Luke, Michael, and Calum went out one night while we were stopped and Ashton and I decided to stay in so that we could actually talk. I never hide anything from Ash, so I flat out told him, that my love for him wasn't fading at all, but I was starting to fall for Michael too. I was terrified that he was going to be mad. I expected him to be angry and not understand how the hell I could love them both but he wasn't. He just smiled and 'oh thank God' I was totally confused until he told me that he felt the same way, he was falling for Michael too. We were both so relieved, but still confused. Michael was our best friend, who more-often-than-not cuddled with us and sometimes slept in our bed. We loved him, but we loved each other first. So we came to the agreement that we would just keep this to ourselves. No one needed to know how we felt about Michael, especially Michael. We didn't want to confuse him or hurt him.

When the tour ended, and we all flew back to Sydney, everything was 'normal'. Well, as normal as our group gets. Michael was glued to Ashton and I's side, Luke was freaking out over Amanda's pregnancy, and Calum was not-so-patiently waiting for Ki to finish filming his latest movie so he could come visit. It was normal for us. Liz was torn when Luke brought Amanda home. She was far enough along that she was starting to show, but not too noticeable. Amanda is a sweet girl, and Luke truly loves her, their timing was just bad. Liz was ecstatic for the new baby, yet livid with Luke for getting Amanda pregnant out of wedlock. She did eventually calm down and just accepted the fact that her baby boy was growing up and making his own choices. He was learning, and he promised to be there for Amanda and the baby. I helped him pick out the ring for her. He wasn't going to propose just yet, they'd only been together for about a year, and she was only twelve weeks pregnant, but he wanted to be ready because he was 100% sure that she was the one.

The longer we were home, the more antsy Ashton got. No matter how many times I asked, he wouldn't tell me what was on his mind. And what bothered me so much was the more stressed and antsy Ashton got, the more Michael would pull away from us. He was so sad and yet so closed off. He wouldn't talk to me. It took forever to finally pin him down, literally, and force him to tell me was was making him so sad. He was hurting, I could see it in those forest green eyes, but he's so freaking stubborn. 

Once Ki finally got in, we had a big 'family' party at the Irwin house. Everyone came over and we just had a good time, typical outdoor barbecue style. While the kids of the families were all running around playing, Luke and Amanda watching fondly, and the parents were distracted by watching them, Ashton and I slipped away and down an old path to what used to be his tree house as a kid. He insisted that I had to go up first, that there was a surprise that I had to see before he came up. That scared me. Ashton was unpredictable. He was either super sweet and romantic, or a total prankster, there was no in-between, but I trusted him, still trust him, so I went first. The entire little shack was filled with pictures of us from the past three years. Some were before we even started dating, others were ones of us asleep that the other boys took without my knowledge. I remember walking around and looking at all the pictures while Ashton climbed up. I could hear him behind me but ignored him in favor of looking through the pictures. That was until I heard the camera go off. He snapped a few more pictures as I turned around to face him, only to find him down on one knee, with the most beautiful ring balanced on top of his camera, smiling at me. He still has that picture of me, pure shock written on my face as I realized what was happening. He loves to show that one off, but my favorite is the picture I took of him. His glassy eyes and uncontrollable smile as I took the camera and the ring, so that I could capture his face when I said yes. That was one of the best nights of my life.

He practically skipped back to the party that we sneaked out of, dragging me along with him and shouted 'SHE SAID YES' as soon as everyone turned their attention towards us. There was, of course, lots of hugs and 'congrats' and tears immediately following our announcement, but there was one thing missing. No one had seen Michael since the announcement had been made. Everyone just assumed that he disappeared back into the house or something cause it was Michael but I knew he hadn't gone back inside. Once the excitement had settled down some, I decided to go find him, because it wasn't like him to just disappear without telling anyone. Especially since he'd been practically glued to Ashton and I for months. 

Muffled sobs are what lead me to Michael. He'd gone around to the front of the house and was huddled into the corner of the front porch all alone, knees to his chest, crying. The sight broke my heart. I hated when Michael was upset. Without a word I just sat next to him and pulled my knees up to my chest as well. It wasn't even a full minute before he had clung to my side and was crying into my shoulder. After he was calmed down enough to actually talk, even though there was still tears rolling down his cheeks, I asked him who had hurt him. He was very confused for a moment. It was clearly not the question he had expected so I explained. There are many different kinds of tears. His were obviously tears of pain. He laughed at that, but it was a rather sad laugh. Then he finally explained everything. He told me how much he loved spending time with Ashton and I, how we always included him and didn't make him feel like a third wheel, how we made him feel loved. He started to cry harder again when he told me that he was in love. With me. And Ashton. He apologized probably fifteen times before I could get him to shut up and let me talk too. I reminded him that he is loved, and that Ashton and I getting engaged wasn't going to change the fact that he was included. I reminded him that I loved all of them, and me marrying Ashton wasn't going to change anything. It took awhile for him to relax completely and stop crying. Once he had, I wiped the tear tracks from his face and pulled him into a bear-hug. Just holding him felt so right, so I gently kissed his forehead and pulled him to his feet. We returned to the party, and even though I know everyone knew that we had been missing, and that Michael had been crying, they were kind enough to pretend not to notice. Ashton came up to us before Michael could run off and pulled us both into a big, reassuring hug, which is exactly what Michael needed. 

The following few weeks really blended together. Amanda was getting bigger, Luke was getting more and more excited for their baby, Ki stayed with Calum for a bit until he had to get back to The States for more promo for the movie and getting ready to film the next one as well. Michael continued to be included with just about everything Ashton and I did. There was obviously some limitations, but after the night that he had that horrible nightmare he ended up sleeping in our bed most nights anyways. It was a bit strange for everyone at first. I won't ever forget Luke's face the first time he came to wake Ash and I up and Michael was in the middle of our bed cuddled with us. It was quite hilarious. He forgot what he needed to wake us up for and just left. After that it was just kinda expected that Michael was with Ashton and I most of the time. It became the new normal for our group. 

As Amanda progressed in her pregnancy, the boys decided to extend their break and stay in Sydney until Amanda had the baby. There was one night, several weeks later that really changed everything. Michael had gone out to dinner with his parents, which gave Ashton and I the much needed opportunity to talk privately about what exactly we were going to do with our future, and with Michael. Ashton and I neither one had told Michael how we felt for him, but I told Ash how Michael had admitted his feelings for the both of us to me the night we got engaged. We talked about it for several hours, it wasn't something that we took lightly. What we were planning on doing was highly frowned upon, and wasn't excepted anywhere really, but it was practiced in places. We came to an agreement that night, or maybe it was early the next morning, I really have no clue what time it was 'cause we really did talk for hours about this. It was a very deep and serious conversation where we laid out the pros and cons of our decision. We also decided that we weren't going to bring it up to Michael immediately, but we'd ask him soon enough. 

Time passed, Amanda and Luke found out that they were having a baby girl, and they decided to name her Elizabeth Kate Hemmings. Ashton and I decided that it was time to talk to Michael around that time as well. We were going to tell him where we stand, and let hi decide how we were going to proceed. It was a very stressful time for all of us. Between Amanda's pregnancy, Calum's stress over Ki being gone for awhile to film his movie, and Ashton and I's relationship with Michael, everyone was on edge. It took a little while to finally get Michael alone again to talk, Calum was being clingy because he really missed Ki, so we let it go for a few more days. Once we did finally get him alone, we accidentally scared him half to death. Apparently Ashton and I look like angry parents when we get serious. We were all cuddled in bed, Michael in the middle as usual, and told him that we needed to talk. Michael of course immediately thought that we were getting tired of him being in the middle of our relationship that we were going to ask him to leave and teared up. He obviously couldn't have been more wrong. Before he could let the first tear slip down his cheek Ashton had pulled him into his arms in a tight embrace, both of us reassuring him that he was so wrong. After he calmed down again we told him exactly how we felt for him. We explained that we loved him just as much as he loved us, and as we loved each other. He was very confused for a bit until he finally caught on. It didn't take long for him to smile real big and pull me into the bear hug that he was already wrapped in. 

Asking Michael to be in a relationship with the both of us was the easy part. Explaining to everyone else that we were in a polygamous relationship was the hard part. Karen cried. She was so confused as to why her baby boy would want to be involved with something like this. Anne was mad at Ashton and I for several months. Calum and Luke didn't seem to mind. Sure, it was weird for them to see us go from just cuddling Michael all the time to actually kissing him and making him an active part of the relationship, but they accepted it just as easily as anything. It took awhile for the boys parents to come around but they did eventually, mine didn't, but that's why I live in Australia. Everything was pretty much settled down between all of our families by the time the newest Hemmings arrived. The first outfit that they had the nurses put on Baby Elizabeth said 'Will you marry daddy?' on it, and when Amanda turned to Luke, he of course had the ring, and hopeful puppy eyes. There was simply no way Amanda could say no to him, not that she would anyway. 

The rest is already known by most of the world. After Luke and Amanda announced their engagement and the arrival of their little princess; Ashton, Michael, and I decided to tell the world about our complex relationship. We even proposed to him during an interview, Ashton had me come onstage with them and we knelt down together to propose to him because we wanted him to marry both of us. Of course he said yes. That could have really embarrassing if he'd said no. Now everyone is happily married, except Calum. Between him touring, and Ki filming, they still haven't managed to set a date, but they seem perfectly happy just being engaged for awhile.

Now we're here..."

"Now we're here. That's an amazing story."

"It's just how things went."

"And you're all happy?"

"Ecstatic."

"No regrets?"

"I wish Ashton and I would have had the courage to tell Michael how we felt sooner, but it all worked out perfectly in the end, so no, no regrets."

"I can see that. Are they here?"

"Ash and Mike?"

"Yeah, are they here?"

"Not today, it's just us today."

"Ah yes, I nearly forgot about them. How are they today?"

"Impatient. They've been kicking though the entire story."

"They get that from their dad?"

"Of course. Michael doesn't wait for anything."

"So you're confirming that they're Michael's children?"

"I am. Everyone knows that Hunter is Ashton's. We can't even try to deny that one."

"He looks just like him."

"That he does."

"Is there anything else you'd like to add today"

"I don't think there's anything else to add. I've just told you everything."

"You said you were friends with the boys before, how'd you meet them?"

"You're gonna laugh."

"Oh?"

"I was taking pictures in this little local park. And there were these four idiots messing around. Calum missed whatever he was trying to hit with that stupid football, and it hit me."

"No."

"Yep. I hit him back with it, which made Luke and Michael laugh, and Michael informed me that he definitely liked my style. After we both apologized, Ashton introduced all of them, and I introduced myself. He and I launched into a discussion about nature photography and the rest is history."


End file.
